Daily news

SpaceLogistics LLC, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corporation has been
selected by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) as its commercial partner for the
agency’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites
(RSGS) program. The groundbreaking mission will feature
the first-ever commercial robotic servicing spacecraft
and aims to expand the market for satellite servicing of
both commercial and government client satellites with
advanced robotics technology. The program objectives
include enhanced capabilities such as in-orbit repair,
augmentation, assembly, detailed inspection and
relocation of client satellites.

Under the agreement, DARPA will
provide the robotics payload for the Space Logistics
Mission Robotic Vehicle. This payload, developed and
integrated by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory,
consists of two dexterous robotic manipulator arms,
along with several tools and sensors. SpaceLogistics
will provide its Mission Robotic Vehicle bus leveraging
technologies developed for the industry’s first- ever
satellite servicing vehicle, the Mission Extension
Vehicle (MEV).

MEV-1, designed and built by
Northrop Grumman, launched in October 2019 and
successfully completed the first docking in
geosynchronous orbit with an Intelsat satellite on Feb.
25. Northrop Grumman will also channel its deep
expertise in spacecraft development and on-orbit
servicing to lead the system level design, integration,
testing, launch and mission operations over the life of
the satellite.

“Our selection as DARPA’s
commercial partner expands our leadership in space
logistics,” said Tom Wilson, president, SpaceLogistics
LLC. “The new robotics technology on this mission
advances our vision to build a fleet of satellite
servicing vehicles that provide customers with a variety
of options to select the type of life-extension or
in-orbit repairs they need.”

In addition to the Mission Robotic
Vehicle for SpaceLogistics, Northrop Grumman is
developing expanded life extension services for the
mission that include Mission Extension Pods. The new
pods augment the propulsion system of aging satellites
and provide six years of orbital life extension. The
Mission Robotic Vehicle will be used to install these
augmentation platforms on existing in-orbit commercial
and government client satellites to extend their mission
lives.